A New Life
by Evan Cheeks Pacheco
Summary: A young Malcolm McDowell finds himself stranded on an island and in need of a home. When he meets up with King Triton and his daughters sunbathing on the beach and introduces himself a good person, will Triton allow Malcolm into Atlantica or not?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Little Mermaid.

**A New Life**

**Chapter 1**

So, do you want to know how it all began? How I ended up on this island? How I came to find the love of my life?

Well, I could tell you everything except how I got on this island. All I remember is waking up and tasting sand in my mouth, opening up my eyes to see miles and miles of ocean not to mention the jungle behind me. At first I thought it was all a dream, that I would wake up at any moment in a nice, cozy bed at about 6:45 am in my apartment in New York City but I didn't.

I woke up slowly, got up onto my feet and started walking around. My muscles ached as if they were tied with ropes and being pulled by somebody. It took me a while to get myself together. When I did I realized I was wearing a suit and tie. I looked like I was all dressed up and ready to go to a party.

It's strange that I don't remember putting on this suit. I began looking around, trying to see if I saw anything or anybody else on the island but no such luck. I was the only one there, just me and the ocean and the jungle. I had this feeling in my gut that I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, so I decided to build some sort of shelter. I went into the jungle but not too far for fear of what might be in there. I looked for materials so I could build my shelter. I eventually found some things I could use. I found things like sharp sticks which came in handy for cutting things up. It was very hard to do with just a sharp edge but that was all that I could find. I also found small heavy logs I could use to hammer with. Unfortunately that was all I could find and I had nothing else on me. After building half of my shack, I began to feel very hungry. The hunger pain in my stomach with each passing moment.

I tried breathing to ease the pain a little but it kept coming back every five seconds. I travelled around the jungle to find some type of food. I had come upon some berries which looked pretty ripe. I didn't care what these berries were or what were in them. I didn't even care if they killed me. All I cared about was that I found food since I was hungrier than a bear.

After eating a few berries, I walked back to my camp site to continue building my shack. It wasn't fancy. It was small. It was just big enough for one person. As I continued building, I couldn't help but think about what else there was to do on the island. I could build a shelter and find food but I needed someone to talk to. At least one other person would be great so I don't feel so lonely.

I also had the option of taking a walk but I don't know what dangers existed on the island so I wasn't going too far into the jungle anytime soon.

Suddenly I thought of something. I could take a walk along the beach. I'd be out in the open, not surrounded by trees and brush. So I executed the idea of "taking a walk along the beach" as said in most romantic movies.

However, that wouldn't be until tomorrow since it was getting late and the sky was turning dark. Thank goodness! I was almost done with my shack because I was also getting tired. I only had a few more touch ups and then I was done.

Who knows ? Maybe tomorrow I might find something else on the island. I might even find someone. I kept thinking positive thoughts as I lay down in my shack and closed my eyes to go to sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I looked over to my right side to see what time it was but then remembered I was on the island and didn't have a clock or a watch or anything. I had all the time in the world to do anything I wanted to.

I got up and stretched, yawning in the process. I got out of my shack to look out at the sea. It was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen. The sky was still dark, but it had reddish tint to it to symbolize that morning was coming.

I loved the sound of the sea. The splashing waves, the water making that crinkling sound it always makes but what really hit me was the scent. The scent of the sea woke me up even more than I already was. I sighed and looked back and forth. I don't know why I was looking around. There was nobody else but me.

"Well, no better time than to start my walk now," I said to myself. I feared that if I walked too far away that I would lose my shack and get lost. It was then I realized I could just back-track so I didn't worry much about that anymore.

I started my walk by going to my left. I kept glancing back at my shack as if something was going to happen to it. I stopped looking back after I got about a mile or so away. I kept staring out at the sea hoping to come across a boat or a cruise ship to save me. I didn't want to be stuck on this island forever with no one to talk to and no one to help me in my time of need.

As I walked further I came across a small fish in the ocean that looked like it was having fun. It was jumping in and out of the water like a whale. The fish was mostly yellow with hints of blue. I didn't know what type of fish it was but I didn't care. I tried not to make myself visible as I didn't want to disturb it's fun but it caught me out of the corner of its eye. It gasped.

"That was weird", I thought to myself. It was as though it had the senses of a human. It stood still like a scarecrow, watching my every move like a hawk.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you," I said to the fish. I felt stupid talking to a fish as if it were human. However, I was quite lonely and needed to talk to someone.

"Y-you're not?", the fish asked.

I stood there wide-eyed. I couldn't believe it. The fish was talking to me! It had the voice of a kid about 9 or 10. I thought this was just a dream. It had to be. Fish don't talk!

I kept thinking to myself that this was a dream and I needed to wake up but the fish was still in the same spot looking at me. It looked frightened .

"Are you talking to me?" I asked stupidly. The fish glanced all around him and then back at me.

"We're the only two living things here right?", the fish asked .

I nodded in response. "But you're a fish. You can't talk." The fish looked offended. "Oh, I'm sorry if I offended you by calling you fish."

"Nah, none takin'. My name's Flounder, what's yours?"

"My name is Malcolm. Malcolm McDowell."

"Well, let me ask you something, Malcolm. If you're a human then why are you being so nice to me? I thought all humans were bad."

Wow, did this fish really think that? I couldn't believe it.

"No, Flounder. Not all humans are bad. There are some humans that are and some humans that aren't. I'm a good human. Who in the world ever told you that all humans were bad?", I asked.

"King Triton. He not only hates humans but he also banned music from Atlantica. His wife, Queen Athena, died not too long ago and she always loved music and so he banned music because she was dead."

I pitied the old king. You'd hate to lose someone you love. Especially if it's your wife. I've seen it dozens of times in movies.

"Oh I'm very sorry", I said.

"Don't apologize to me. It's the king you should apologize to. Well, I've got to get back to the Catfish Club. I just came up to get some fresh air."

"I'd come with you but I'm afraid I don't breathe under water," I joked.

Flounder only smiled. "Actually, you can with the help of King Triton but you don't stand a chance at all because you're human. Later."

With that the fish dove back under the water and out of sight.

I laughed. If only I could come face to face with this King Triton. I would tell him that I wouldn't hurt him and that I am a good person.

"The Catfish Club," I laughed to myself. I couldn't get over that name. What a weird name the fish had, Flounder. He didn't look like a Flounder at all. He looked…actually I have no idea what type of fish he was. He was nothing like any fish that I've ever seen. I shrugged it off and kept on walking.

What a strange land this was. I met a talking fish. Next thing you know I'd meet a talking tiger or dolphin. It felt almost like I was in Wonderland. As I continued walking along the beach I heard other voices . They were coming from in front of me behind a few large rocks.

I ran over and looked over the rocks and saw something that I thought I'd never see at all in my life.

"Oh my God ," I said to myself. "Merfolk."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: I'm sorry it took so long to upload because I had college and all, but, here you go. The next chapter to A New Life. **

**Chapter 2**

I couldn't believe my eyes. I saw seven beautiful mermaids sitting together on the beach. There was also another one but he was a merman. He looked a little old. He had white hair and a long white beard. Then the question struck me. Is that King Triton? In order to get an answer, there was only one thing to do. I had to walk up to those mermaids and the merman and introduce myself but then I remembered what the fish Flounder had told me: "I don't stand a chance because I am human."

I was stuck in deciding what I should do. Should I go up to them or should I just stay here? However, if I stayed here I would never know if that was King Triton. I quickly executed my decision and I walked slowly over to the Merfolk. I felt my heart racing as I took each step.

As I kept walking slowly forward, I heard a blood curdling scream. It came from one of the mermaids. "HUMAN!" she yelled. I fell back a little, trying to keep my balance. By now all the mermaids and the merman were staring at me.

"Uh hi," I said, walking a little closer.

"Stay away from us," another mermaid said. "Daddy, get your trident."

"Oh dear. I left it back at the palace," the old man said. All eight of them were huddled together in a group and shaking in fear. Even the old man I thought to be the king looked a little frightened.

"Are you King Triton?" I asked, not moving so I wouldn't cause them to scream in fear again.

"Yes. What do you want, human?", he asked.

I still kept my distance. "Listen to me; I am not going to hurt you."

"Yeah right! Then when we're sleeping you're going to slash our throats," a yellow tailed mermaid with brown hair and a bright green seashell bra said.

"Adella please," the king said.

Then the king looked up at me. "What do you want human?" the king asked again.

"I talked to a fish who said you could make me breathe under water", I said.

"Yeah so? Which fish told you that?"

"Uhhh. Oh geez, I forgot his bloody name, uhhh. Oh, his name was Flounder." The mermaid with the green tail and red hair laughed a little. "Hey Ariel, isn't that your little friend there?" a mermaid with short blonde hair and a dark purple tail asked.

"Yeah," I said. He told me you could allow me to breathe under water."

"And?", the king asked.

"Well I'm stuck on this island. I don't even know how I got here in the first place and I would like to have a roof over my head. Flounder had mentioned that you live in a place called Altanti-something."

"Atlantica. Why should I help you human?"

"Listen. Flounder told me all about your wife and I'm sorry for your loss but not all humans are bad. I am one of the good humans. Please believe me. I think it's cruel what those people did to your wife. If I were like those people, I would have killed you all right now but I don't want to. I would just like to be friends. I don't want to hurt you. I just don't want to be alone on this island anymore."

The group sat still and silent. I was wondering if my speech had worked on them, especially the king. The king put his hand on his chin and started to brush it.

"Hmmm. You may be telling the truth", the king remarked. There was more silence.

"Alright. I'll do it", the king said, "but you have to keep your distance from us. That means you can't eat dinner with us, you can't walk with us in the morning, and you can't sleep in the same room as any of us."

"Fair enough," I said.

"Now, I'll have to get my trident. I'll be right back, girls. Attina."

"Yes father?", Attina replied.

"Watch over your sisters for me along with this human."

"Yes father", Attina said.

The king went into the water and swam away and out of sight. I had a strange sensation that the mermaids were staring at me. When I turned to look at them, I was right. They were all keeping an eye on me, none one of them were smiling. When I had only taken a step forward, the one named Attina, the orange tailed mermaid, yelled, "Keep your distance human!"

"My name is Malcolm," I told her.

"Human will suit you just fine," she replied with hostility in her voice.

I agreed with her. By the way things were going, I was lucky King Triton actually allowed me in his palace.

"If you'd like, I'll sit down so you don't get so worried," I suggested to them.

"My name is Attina," she continued. "And these are my sisters, Aquata, Andrina, Alana, Ariel, Arista and Adella."

I was sure that neither one of them wanted me to know their names but, if I wanted something, I had to at least know their names.

"Where are you from?", Adella asked me.

"I'm from England but I live in New York City in an apartment", I replied.

"You said you didn't know how you ended up on this island. How do you not know? You must know how you got here" Arista remarked.

I thought she was the cutest. She had a red tail and long blonde hair that she wore in a ponytail.

"Well I don't know. I can't answer why because I just woke up on the island. I built a shack that's not too far away from here. About 2 to 3 miles away."

Arista just shrugged.

"So you talked to my friend, huh?" Ariel asked me.

"Who?"

"Flounder."

"Oh yes, I did. Nice fellow. He thought that I was going to hurt him at first. Funny, huh?"

"Did you?"

"What?"

"I asked did you?"

"No, why would I do that? I had already told you girls and your father that I am not a bad person and I'm not going to hurt you."

"You know what? If I were daddy, I wouldn't let you in Atlantica. I would've liked to see you die on this island," Attina said to me.

I took offense to that. I wanted to say something back to her but I knew that would be foolish and she'd tell the king. For now I had to keep my comments to myself. Attina continued, "We'll see if you are really telling the truth. You will have to prove to all of us and the citizens of Atlantica that there is such a thing as 'a good human'."

She was right. I couldn't just say to them I was good. I had to prove it.

Out of nowhere, King Triton appeared behind me. He scared me a little and I fell back again. Some of the mermaids giggled.

"What, did I give you a scare?" the king asked with a devious smile.

I just sighed.

"Now," the king started seeming serious. "You realize I can't actually change you into a merman but I can make it so you can breathe, see, talk and walk under water."

"Yes, I understand." That was a relief . I thought he had to change me into a merman. I didn't like the fact of taking off my clothes in front of his daughters. I also didn't like the fact of having to go bare-chested around Atlantica.

"Alright", said the king pointing his trident at me. In a few seconds it was done. I still felt the same.

"Did it work?" I asked. Again, I felt stupid asking something like that to a king.

"Well, why don't you try it out?" said King Triton , pointing to the ocean.

I walked over to the water and kept going further and further in until the water reached up to my waist. The water felt like it was thin air. I dove under and I could see and breathe just fine under the water. I could also talk, too. It was amazing! This was too real to be a dream. It had to be reality.

I came back up and swam over to the king and his daughters, making sure I kept my distance of course.

"Oh my goodness!", I yelled. This is amazing! I've never experienced anything like this before! Thank you your majesty."

The king just bowed his head. "Well,", he said, "let's get back to the palace. I'll show you where your room will be."

We went into the water and followed the king.

As I swam along, I saw Atlantica in the distance. This was exciting. I was actually going to meet people that aren't my own kind.

When we got to the front gates, there were swordfish that were guarding it. "Good afternoon your majesty," one of them greeted the king. It was already the afternoon. "It's funny how time goes by so quickly", I thought to myself.

When one of the swordfish saw me, he told the rest and before I knew it, I was surrounded by several of them.

"Your majesty. What is this human doing here?", asked one of the swordfish.

"Guards, guards, it's alright", the king replied. "He's with us. Although he has a lot to prove."

The king's eyes met mine. I made sure that my eyes met his, too. I wouldn't dare take my eyes off his for any reason when he was talking to me. The guards opened the gates and we swam into Atlantica. As I entered Atlantica, the guards stared me down. One of them said, "You touch the king and you're dead." I just ignored them and continued on.

There were some Merfolk that were walking along and stopped to let the king and the rest of us swim by. They all gave me a look as I passed. I had a feeling I wasn't going to be making friends anytime soon.

When we entered the palace, my mouth was wide open. It looked like a mansion. I then noticed a small crustacean who came up to the king.

"Good afternoon you're majesty," the crab greeted with a bow. The crab glanced at me and gasped.

" Sire , dere's a human in de palace!" he yelled.

"Settle down Sebastian", said the king. "He claims he is a good human."

"But you're majesty, have you forgotten what dey did to your wife?"

The king became sad. "No," he replied. "But he has to prove he is a good human. He will be keeping his distance."

The king then looked at me and asked, "Won't you?"

"Yes you're highness," I replied that instant.

Sebastian studied me. "You have a funny accent. Where are you from?"

"England."

"Never heard of it."

"It's a country."

"Still haven't heard of it."

King Triton broke us up. "That's enough. Malcolm, come this way."

I followed the King as instructed.

"I don't trust dat mon at all. Someone's gotta keep an eye on him", warned Sebastian.

"Don't worry Sebastian, we don't trust him either. All of us will be watching him," Aquata said to him.

I followed King Triton until he stopped in front of me. He pointed to a room on the left side. I assumed it was mine so I walked in. The room was small and filled with books. The bed was shaped like a clam shell. I giggled to myself at the sight of that.

"Well, if there's anything else you may need, you know what to do", said the king.

"Wait, what's that?", I asked.

"What's what?"

"If I need anything what do I do?"

"Call our names."

"Oh."

With that, King Triton left and once again, I was all alone. The bed I sat in was a little uncomfortable but it had to do for now. I took one of the books off the shelf on my right and started skimming through it. It seemed quite boring so I placed on the night table and lay my head back on the pillow. Once again, I drifted into a deep sleep hoping to become friends with the King and his daughters. I was going to be starting a new life here under the sea.

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of voices outside the palace. I got up and walked to the window and saw the King and his daughters walking back in the direction of the palace. At first, I wondered what they were doing but then I remembered that Triton said they go for a morning walk and I wasn't allowed to go with them. I didn't agree with Triton banning me from wherever they go but I am receiving free room and board and didn't want to give that up for a simple morning walk.

I walked out of the room and down the stairs only to be caught by Sebastian. "Where do you tink you're going mon?", the crab hissed.

"I was going to greet the King," I replied, hoping he'd let me pass.

"Oh, no you're not. Get back upstairs", Sebastian commanded.

I was going to argue but then the King and his daughters spotted us. "What are you doing out of your room human?", Attina asked me.

"I was going to greet the King. My name is Malcolm, not human. I prefer to be called by my name."

I regretted saying that because I thought for sure Triton was going kick me out but he didn't.

"You missed dinner last night. I was going to wake you but you seemed fast asleep ", the king said.

"Good morning your highness. That's alright, I wasn't hungry anyway", I said.

With that, I walked back up to my room making sure I said goodbye to the king before I went.

When I got back to my room, I started to wonder about one of the King's daughters. It was a random thought, I know. It was the one with light purple tail, black hair with curls and the purple seashell bra. I caught her half smiling at me when I left a moment ago. Thank goodness! At least someone likes me here. I forgot what her bloody name was though. I think I'll pay her a visit tonight.

I had this feeling I was going to get in trouble for this. I probably was but I can't help wondering if the mermaid actually likes me. The only way to find out is to talk with her..

I walked to the girl's room later and peeked in. Fortunately she was in her room brushing her hair. She was the only one there. This couldn't have gone better but I was worried her sisters might stop by.

When I walked in the mermaid gasped. "Malcolm, what are you doing here?!" she exclaimed.

I couldn't believe my own ears. She called me by my name. I thought for sure she'd call me 'human'.

"I forgot your name. What was it again?"

"Alana."

"Oh, that's right. Gosh, what a pretty name." She blushed. I grew hot. "Finally, I found someone who likes me", I thought to myself.

"Really, what are you doing here Malcolm? You could get in trouble with Daddy and my sisters."

She was right. Attina would definitely ring my neck if she found out I was even near her sister. God only knows what the king would do. I wanted to stay on their good sides .

"I wanted to see you. I find you very attractive, Alana. I just wanted you to know that." Alana blushed again and looked away.

"Thank you, but you have to go or you will get in trouble. I want you to stay here, not get kicked out."

She started pushing me toward the entrance when she stopped.

"Uh-oh," she said. "I hear my sisters."

I heard them too. Voices were coming toward the entrance. Alana rushed around frantically, trying to find a hiding place for me. When she found one, she practically threw me in it. It was a little closet in the wall. Thankfully it was near the entrance so I could get out quicker when I had the chance.

"When my sisters aren't looking, you run for the entrance, got it?" I gave her a thumbs up.

Her sisters walked into her room. I heard Attina's voice first.

"Alana, what's the matter with you", asked Attina.

Then Andrina said, "Yeah, you look like you have a secret or something."

God, they're nosy, I thought to myself. Especially Attina. She seemed to be always asking questions and demanding answers. I don't intend to give her any answers if she gets nosy with me.

Alana led her sisters over to another side of the room. I figured that was my queue to run.

I dashed out of the room leaving little bubbles behind me. I stayed outside the room but peeked back in quickly to see if Alana's sisters were suspicious. None of them looked back so I headed for my room.

I figured it was about time to get some rest. I got into my shell bed and fell into a deep sleep.


End file.
